Latest news with #Nieder
New York Times
27-03-2025
- Science
- New York Times
A Shark Breaks Its Silence With Some Clicking Sounds
Dolphins whistle. Whales sing. Fish croak, chirp, grunt, hum and growl. But in the chatter of the sea, one voice has been missing — until now. Sharks have long been seen as the silent killers of the water. But scientists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand recently recorded a rig shark, or Mustelus lenticulatus, making a sharp clicking sound, most likely by snapping its teeth together, according to findings published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on Wednesday. They believe it's the first time a shark has been recorded actively making noise. The lead researcher, Carolin Nieder, first heard the sound while she was researching the hearing abilities of sharks. While she was handling one shark, it made a clicking, snapping sound similar to that of an electric spark, she said. The noise came from a rig shark, a fairly small shark common in the waters around New Zealand that grows to up to five feet and mainly eats crustaceans. It is eaten by bigger shark species — and by New Zealanders, who use it to make fish and chips. Dr. Nieder was taken aback when she heard the noise. Other sea creatures have mechanisms for making sound. Fish, for example, have a swim bladder, a gas-filled sac that is used for buoyancy but can also be used as a kind of drum. Many fish have a muscle that can vibrate the swim bladder in a way similar to a human's vocal cords, generating sounds. But sharks 'were thought to be silent, unable to actively create sounds,' Dr. Nieder said. For the study, she and her co-authors observed the behavior of 10 rig sharks housed in tanks equipped with underwater microphones. They found that all 10 sharks would begin to make the clicking noise when they were being moved between tanks or gently held. On average, the sharks would click nine times in a 20-second interval, and the researchers believe they made the sound by snapping their teeth together. They did not make the noise when they were feeding or swimming, leading the scientists to believe the clicking was more likely something they did when stressed or startled, rather than as a means of communicating with one another. 'I think it's more likely that they would make those noises when they get attacked,' Dr. Nieder said, adding that many other fish snap their teeth or jaws in an attempt to deter or distract predators. It was unclear whether the sharks could hear the clicks themselves; whether they made the sound in the wild or just in captivity; and whether they made it intentionally or if it was a side effect of their response to being startled, Dr. Nieder said. Christine Erbe, the director of the Center for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University in Australia, said that the study expanded on a growing field of research into how marine animals make and hear sounds. 'Once we start looking, we find more and more species that use sound,' she said. Because of that, it was not surprising to find that sharks can make noise, she said. However, she added, 'I think it's significant in the sense that we totally underestimate the communication between animals and their environmental sensing abilities, and therefore also how we can impact them with noise.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
First sound recordings of sharks captured by researchers, new study shows
The first-ever sounds of sharks have been captured by researchers, according to a new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. The study, published Wednesday, found that the rig shark -- also known as the spotted estuary smoothhound -- produces clicking sounds when handled, according to the study. "Sharks are maybe not as silent as we thought," Carolin Nieder, marine biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and lead author of the study, told ABC News. Nieder said the sounds were "discovered by accident" as she was conducting another study analyzing the hearing capabilities of sharks during her doctorate program at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. "I had never considered that any of the sharks I was studying could make any sort of sound. I was under the assumption that sharks are silent fish, so they wouldn't make any active sounds," she said. Nieder caught seven rig sharks in the Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand, obtained three more from a local commercial fisherman and housed them in a marine laboratory in "circular flow-through holding tanks," the study said. MORE: 2 friends injured in shark attack in the Bahamas speak out After acclimating for at least a week, the sharks were transferred from their holding tank into an experimental tank, where the handling took place, the study said. During the handling, the rigs were "opportunistically observed to produce clicking sounds underwater." On average, the sharks produced "nine clicks during handling underwater" over the course of 20 seconds, with significantly more clicks during the preliminary 10 seconds, the study said. The overall click duration was only 48 milliseconds, the study said. Twenty-five percent of the clicks occurred when the sharks reacted with "vigorous bending of the head and body from side to side," about 70% occurred with "calm swaying," and 5% of clicks occurred in "the absence of any obvious body movements," the study said. The initial handling "triggers a stress to startle response, resulting in increased click activity" and as the sharks become more accustomed to the handling, "the behavioral response likely diminishes, leading to fewer clicks over time," the study said. MORE: American swimmer Ali Truwit wins silver in Paralympics 1 year after losing leg in shark attack "The rig is a smaller shark. It's vulnerable to predation," Nieder said. "Maybe if a small shark like this gets attacked, maybe these clicks can disorient the predator for just a split second to escape." Nieder told ABC News the rig shark is able to produce this clicking sound due to its flat teeth, which differ from the teeth other sharks possess. Neil Hammerschlag, president of Atlantic Shark Expeditions who was not part of this study, said he has "long thought they must have some way to communicate through sound." "The idea that some sharks are making sounds is exciting because to me. That suggests they could use that as a form of communication. This opens up an avenue for future research," Hammerschlag told ABC News. Nieder hopes this initial observation will inspire others to dive into research surrounding sharks and that more people will be "curious about current notions and to keep listening to other animals and species that are deemed silent." First sound recordings of sharks captured by researchers, new study shows originally appeared on
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
First sound recordings of sharks captured by researchers, new study shows
The first-ever sounds of sharks have been captured by researchers, according to a new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. The study, published Wednesday, found that the rig shark -- also known as the spotted estuary smoothhound -- produces clicking sounds when handled, according to the study. "Sharks are maybe not as silent as we thought," Carolin Nieder, marine biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and lead author of the study, told ABC News. Nieder said the sounds were "discovered by accident" as she was conducting another study analyzing the hearing capabilities of sharks during her doctorate program at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. "I had never considered that any of the sharks I was studying could make any sort of sound. I was under the assumption that sharks are silent fish, so they wouldn't make any active sounds," she said. Nieder caught seven rig sharks in the Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand, obtained three more from a local commercial fisherman and housed them in a marine laboratory in "circular flow-through holding tanks," the study said. MORE: 2 friends injured in shark attack in the Bahamas speak out After acclimating for at least a week, the sharks were transferred from their holding tank into an experimental tank, where the handling took place, the study said. During the handling, the rigs were "opportunistically observed to produce clicking sounds underwater." On average, the sharks produced "nine clicks during handling underwater" over the course of 20 seconds, with significantly more clicks during the preliminary 10 seconds, the study said. The overall click duration was only 48 milliseconds, the study said. Twenty-five percent of the clicks occurred when the sharks reacted with "vigorous bending of the head and body from side to side," about 70% occurred with "calm swaying," and 5% of clicks occurred in "the absence of any obvious body movements," the study said. The initial handling "triggers a stress to startle response, resulting in increased click activity" and as the sharks become more accustomed to the handling, "the behavioral response likely diminishes, leading to fewer clicks over time," the study said. MORE: American swimmer Ali Truwit wins silver in Paralympics 1 year after losing leg in shark attack "The rig is a smaller shark. It's vulnerable to predation," Nieder said. "Maybe if a small shark like this gets attacked, maybe these clicks can disorient the predator for just a split second to escape." Nieder told ABC News the rig shark is able to produce this clicking sound due to its flat teeth, which differ from the teeth other sharks possess. Neil Hammerschlag, president of Atlantic Shark Expeditions who was not part of this study, said he has "long thought they must have some way to communicate through sound." "The idea that some sharks are making sounds is exciting because to me. That suggests they could use that as a form of communication. This opens up an avenue for future research," Hammerschlag told ABC News. Nieder hopes this initial observation will inspire others to dive into research surrounding sharks and that more people will be "curious about current notions and to keep listening to other animals and species that are deemed silent." First sound recordings of sharks captured by researchers, new study shows originally appeared on
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Listen to the first recorded evidence of a rig shark producing sound
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Sharks have a reputation for being silent killers — the top ocean predators are stealthy hunters, but they also lack sound-producing organs found in many other fish. Now, a groundbreaking new study has revealed one shark species may be more vocal than previously thought, making noises comparable to the sound of a balloon popping. For the first time, scientists have recorded evidence of the rig shark — Mustelus lenticulatus — actively producing sound by snapping its teeth, according to research published Tuesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science. 'How sharks maintain social groupings or communicate was thought to be largely body language and possibly through chemical signals; but for the most part has been a mystery,' said Neil Hammerschlag, president of Atlantic Shark Expeditions and executive director of the Shark Research Foundation, a not-for-profit group that aims to increase knowledge and promote conservation of sharks. Hammerschlag was not involved in the research. 'This study opens up a whole new possibility of communication via sound.' The rig shark, a small species that inhabits the coastal waters of New Zealand, typically lives near the seafloor and plays a key role in the region's commercial fishing industry. Unlike most fish that rely on a swim bladder — a gas-filled organ that helps fish maintain their buoyancy and produce and detect sound — sharks lack this feature, making noise production seem unlikely. Lead study author Dr. Carolin Nieder first became curious about sharks' acoustic capabilities after hearing an unexpected clicking sound during behavioral training experiments while earning her doctoral degree at the University of Auckland in 2021. Nieder is now a postdoctoral investigator with the T. Aran Mooney Lab at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. Although she was unable to investigate the mysterious clicking at the time, it held her interest. Now, Nieder and her team have reported fascinating findings from studying 10 juvenile rig sharks — five males and five females — caught off the coast of New Zealand. The scientists housed the sharks in large marine laboratory tanks, maintained with proper seawater conditions and food, from May 2021 to April 2022. To carefully record any sounds made, the team transferred the sharks to individual tanks equipped with underwater microphones or hydrophones. As the sharks were moved between tanks or gently held, they began making clicking noises, similar to the ones Nieder noticed years ago. Each click was extremely short, lasting an average of 48 milliseconds, which is faster than a human eye blink. Researchers also identified the clicks as broadband, meaning they occurred over a wide range of frequencies from 2.4 to 18.5 kilohertz — some of which can be detected by humans, according to the study. In terms of volume, the clicks were intense, reaching about 156 decibels. The study noted most clicks occurred within the first 10 seconds of handling, becoming less frequent over time. During the initial 10 seconds, the sharks emitted an average of seven clicks, compared with the final 10 seconds with an average of only two clicks. 'As the animals got used to the daily experimental protocol, they then stopped making the clicks altogether, as if they got used to being in captivity and the experimental routine,' Nieder said via email. 'This led us to consider that maybe we are observing a sound making behavior rather than a strange artifact.' The team also observed that around 70% of clicks occurred when the shark was swaying side to side slowly, while about 25% of the clicks happened when the shark was exhibiting explosive movements, waving its head or body around. Only 5% of the movements happened when the shark wasn't obviously moving its body, according to the study. With no specialized sound-producing organs found in these sharks, the researchers are confident that the clicks come from their strong, interlocking teeth snapping together. These platelike teeth, designed to crush prey such as crustaceans, may be responsible for producing the distinctive clicking sound, similar to the sounds some fish make by grinding their teeth. The consistent pattern and frequency of the clicks also suggest the sounds are intentional, rather than accidental, Nieder said. Researchers are still trying to investigate why exactly the rig shark emits these sounds. One possibility is that the clicks serve as a distress signal, which could be a reaction to being handled during the experiment. Most of the clicks fell outside of the hearing range of rig sharks themselves, which extends to about 800 hertz, according to the study. If sharks aren't using their vocal capabilities to communicate with one another, it's possible the clicks could serve as a warning signal or form of aggression around prey or in dangerous situations, the researchers wrote. With more than 500 species of sharks worldwide, it's still unclear whether other sharks share this ability to produce sound. 'I think there is a chance other sharks are making similar noises,' Nieder said. 'This documentation could help (us) start listening to sharks, and maybe we can learn more interesting things about their ecology and lifestyle in their various ecological niches.' Additionally, because the sounds were recorded in a controlled laboratory setting, researchers are eager to discover whether rig sharks also produce these noises in the wild and under what conditions. 'This study opens up the possibility of these smaller sharks 'sounding the alarm,'' Hammerschlag said via email, referencing how smaller sharks scatter in the presence of larger sharks, even if they are out of sight. 'While we really don't know if the sound produced by the rig sharks was simply a byproduct of being handled … it does open up some new questions, possibilities and avenues for future research.'
